Upon investigating a complaint against a lawyer, the Investigation Committee may direct the Secretary-Treasurer to lay a formal charge. A panel of the Discipline Committee, which includes volunteer lawyers and members of the public, will hear the charges and evidence and upon finding the lawyer guilty, may sanction the lawyer—up to and including disbarment. At any hearing, a settlement may be proposed. Hearings are open to the public.

Notices of Hearings are posted here at least 14 days prior to a hearing.

The following are summaries of past formal hearing decisions:

Member plead guilty to the following charge: 

In Feb 2013, the member solicited a $15,000 loan from his client for the benefit of his corporate client in which he also had a personal interest, and negotiated a subsequent amendment to the loan agreement, without referring his client for independent legal advice, or obtaining informed consent, contrary to Chapters V, VI and VII of the Code of Professional Conduct. 

Following the receipt of a number of complaints and concerns by the Law Society, the Member undertook to cease practice on January 30, 2015 and a Receiver, John Hennessey, Q.C. of McInnes Cooper, was put in place to manage the Member's files and accounts.

Following the investigation into the Member's practice of law, he was charged with a number of counts of unprofessional conduct on January 15, 2016. The charges alleged that the Member failed to discharge his professional duties with integrity, failed to provide a quality of service expected of a competent lawyer, failed to respond to client communications within a reasonable time, charged fees that were not fully disclosed to the client and appropriated funds from clients in full payment for legal services that had not yet been provided, failed to reply promptly to communications from the Law Society, failed to maintain his books of accounts in a proper and adequate fashion, failed to observe a standard of conduct that reflects credit on the legal profession and the administration of justice, and engaged in a debtor-creditor relationship with a client. 

The Member subsequently admitted to the charges and admitted that they constituted unprofessional conduct.

On April 11, 2016, a Discipline Committee of the Law Society of Prince Edward Island accepted a proposed Settlement Agreement permitting the Member to resign his membership as a result of disciplinary proceedings pursuant to Regulation 61 of the Legal Profession Act. In addition to the Member's resignation from the Law Society, the Settlement Agreement indicates that he cannot re-apply to the Law Society for 7 years. A number of conditions have been put in place regarding his application for re-admission, including payment of costs of the discipline proceedings, set at $75,000.

Council of the Law Society allowed the Member to resign his Law Society membership as a result of discipline proceedings. The Settlement Agreement was signed by all parties and is effective April 27, 2016.

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Member plead guilty to the following Law Society charges:

Member acted as the lawyer for the Complainants and Company and continued to act where there was or was likely to be a conflicting interest, without adequate disclosure and consent, the particulars of which include, but are not limited to:

Advised and represented company with respect to sale of shares to the complainants, shareholder loans and the sale of the complainants’ shares while at the same time serving as complainants’ lawyer, without referring them to independent legal advice or without obtaining waivers of independent legal advice and consent to proceed in writing.

Member entered into and continued business transactions with the complainants, and acted as a lawyer for them when his duties to them and his personal interests were in conflict, such conduct being contrary to Section 37(1) of the Legal Profession Act, and Chapter VI of the Code of Professional Conduct, the particulars of which include, but are not limited to:

Entered into and continued a business transaction with the complainants, when they expected or may have expected that he was protecting their interests and while there was a significant risk that his interests and their interests could differ. He did so without either providing them with a reasonable opportunity to seek independent legal advice regarding the transactions or without obtaining waivers of independent legal advice and consent to proceed in writing; and

Acted on transactions when his duties to the complainants and his personal interests were in conflict, including, but not limited to: The purchase and sale of the Complainants’ shares in company and subsequent business transactions, when, at the same time, he was a shareholder, director, officer, and lawyer for the company.

Member engaged in a business concurrently with the practice of law, and allowed his business activities outside the practice of law to jeopardize his professional integrity, independence or competence, such conduct being contrary to Section 37(1) of the Legal Profession Act, supra, and Chapter VII of the Code of Professional Conduct, the particulars of which include, but are not limited to,: Did not carry on his outside business activities with company in such a way as to ensure against the risk of a conflict of interest or duty as between himself and the complainants, including, but not limited to: While he was a shareholder, director, officer and lawyer for company and while he was also acting as a lawyer for the complainants on unrelated matters, did engage in outside business activities with the complainants on behalf of the company without referring them to independent legal advice or without obtaining waivers of independent legal advice and consent to proceed in writing.

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Secretary-Treasurer referred a Member’s request for assistance to Council, acting as an Investigation Committee. The Committee appointed a Receiver, Practice Investigator and Spot Auditor. Following a further meeting at which the Member attended, the Committee issued an interim suspension, pending investigation into the conduct of the Member and irregularities in the trust accounts. The formal complaint included as follows: (1) The failure to complete the books of account, contrary to section 44 of the Legal Profession Act and Regulation 36.2; (2) The failure to maintain monthly trust account reconciliations within the 30 day time limit, contrary to Regulation 36.3(5) under the Legal Profession Act; (3) The deposit of monies into trust, contrary to section 44 of the Legal Profession Act and Regulation 36.3(5); (4) The withdrawal of monies from trust, contrary to section 44 of the Legal Profession Act and Regulation 36.4. The Member co-operated fully with the Investigation Committee. At the Formal Hearing, an Agreed Statement of Facts and Joint Recommendation on Penalty were presented, including a number of conditions for reinstatement, which was accepted by the Panel.

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The formal complaint of the Secretary-Treasurer included as follows: That the Member committed unprofessional conduct in that he did fail to serve his client in a conscientious, diligent and efficient manner so as to provide a quality of service at least equal to that which lawyers would expect of a competent lawyer in like circumstances. The Agreed Statement of Facts indicated that the complaint arose from the Member’s representation of the vendors in a real estate transaction. The Member held back monies in trust pending the receipt of a tax clearance certificate from Revenue Canada. A tax certificate was never issued and the Member continued to hold a sum of money for many years. The Member has acknowledged and taken responsibility for his delay in returning the funds to the vendors and his failure to obtain a tax clearance certificate from Revenue Canada in a timely manner. The Member admits this would be in breach of the Code of Professional Conduct and that it is conduct which falls below the standard of professionalism that he and the Law Society of PEI would ascribe to.

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The formal complaint of the Secretary-Treasurer included as follows: That the Member committed unprofessional conduct in that he did not fully cooperate with a Law Society investigation when he failed to promptly respond to inquiries from the Law Society. An Agreed Statement of Facts was read into the record at the Formal Hearing, which included: “…[the Investigation Committee] concluded that the Member violated section 38(10) of the Legal Profession Act which states: “Failure by a Member to cooperate fully in respect of an investigation or inquiry constitutes professional misconduct.” The Committee also referred to Chapter XV of the Code of Professional Conduct entitled “Responsibility to the Profession Generally” which states: “The lawyer should assist in maintaining the integrity of the profession and should participate in its activities.” The commentary which follows the Rule states: “The lawyer has a duty to reply promptly to a communication from the governing body.”…The failure by the Member to respond promptly to the September 8th letter and the October 4th letter until October 19th was a failure to respond promptly to communications from the Law Society.”

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Following the receipt of initial reports regarding a Practice Investigation of a Member and the receipt of a report regarding a Spot Audit of a Member, the reports were referred to the Investigation Committee for consideration under Regulation 23(1). The Committee referred the matter for a Formal Hearing. Agreed Statement of Facts and Joint Recommendation on Penalty was presented and indicated that the member used a cash system for all non-trust payments and that he did not have a general account; that the failure to keep a general bank account made it very difficult to determine whether or not all transactions were in fact recorded; the Member kept no general ledger, disbursement ledger or payroll ledger, no internal trial balances, journal entries income statements or balance sheets for the accountant to review; trust accounts were not completed for 3 months; there were no allegations of dishonesty; the Member has taken steps to rectify the situation. The Hearing Panel accepted the joint recommendation on penalty.

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The matter involved allegations that Member A’s communication to Member B (who was subject to a complaint by Member A’s client), was improper in that it seemed to offer payment for a withdrawal of the complaint against Member B. Member A’s client had instructed him that in return of his fees formerly paid to Member B, he would withdraw the complaint or not appear at any Law Society hearing. Member A acknowledged that his communication to Member B raised the perception that his client was proposing to withdraw his complaint or to not cooperate with the Law Society if he was paid a sum of money. Member A acknowledged that he did not take sufficient care in his choice of language and therefore raised the perception of misconduct under the Code of Professional Conduct. Under the circumstances of this case, having regard to the Member’s present status with the Society, his past service, his remorse, admission and lack of intention to act in contravention of the code, the recommended disposition was accepted.

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The matter involved the failure of two partners to report the misconduct of an associate. The Agreed Statement of Facts included that the Members had done an investigation into the actions of their associate following a complaint by a client. The Members instructed their associate to draft, have executed and register the proper documents, which she completed. The Members then met with the client and informed him of what had transpired and further advised the client that he may wish to report the associate’s misconduct to the Law Society. The client did not wish to do so. The Members did not report the matter to the Law Society, and it did not occur to them that they might have a separate independent obligation to do so. The associate went on to commit further misconduct, and she was eventually granted permission to resign by the Society. The Members were provided with a reprimand in light of Chapter XV of the Code of Professional Conduct, which states: “…It is therefore improper (unless it be privileged or otherwise unlawful) for a lawyer to report to a governing body any occurrences involving a breach of this Code. …”

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The matter involved the Member’s fabrication of a Variation Order and the misleading of clients and other members.

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The Member admitted to dealing with a client after leaving private practice and following a missed deadline, misled the client over a five-year period into believing action had been undertaken on his behalf when it hadn’t, including lying to the client, fabricating a court decision and leading the client to believe that the matter remained before the court when it did not.  

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The matter involved complaints of lack of due diligence in a family matter, the circumstances regarding the payment of a retainer and an allegation of misinformation regarding the progress of the case. Further complaints involved allegations of missing funds and also reports made by the member’s partner to the Law Society regarding trust accounts and files. The Member admitted to failure to deal appropriately with trust funds by misappropriation of same; by directing trust funds of certain clients be allocated to other clients in order to satisfy the obligations of other clients; by misappropriating trust funds of clients to himself without obtaining the express authority or consent of the client; by receiving funds as a retainer and misappropriating those funds to himself personally; by failing to provide clients with an accounting of trust monies received and disbursed; failing to remit funds on behalf of clients for taxes, fees, mortgage and estate funds; misappropriation of funds to himself due to the law firm; lack of competence to provide legal services and failure to provide a minimal quality of service; failure to be honest and candid when advising clients; failure to register documents in a timely manner; permitting general office and practice disorganization to occur; persistently neglecting his clients’ affairs, misrepresenting and falsely reporting to clients as to the status of legal work done; acting for more than one party with differing interests; failure to conduct himself in a manner which would reflect credit on the legal profession; failure to be candid with his clients, his partner, the Law Society and others; failure to discharge with integrity the duties owed to his clients, other members of the profession and the public.

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The matter involved irregularity in a financial transaction involving trust funds as well as a complaint wherein the Member advised his client there would be mediation when none was booked, did not fully inform the client of the consequences of certain actions, did not file court documents in a timely manner and missed deadlines. The Committee found that although the Member was experiencing personal difficulties, misappropriation of funds will not be tolerated. Protection of the public remains the paramount consideration.

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The matter involved the Member’s conduct in several matters, including failure to report a misappropriation of funds by his partner; the representation and withdrawal of the firm’s services to a client; a complaint in bankruptcy proceedings; the circumstances surrounding an affidavit filed by the Member with the Court; and the safekeeping of client files and records. The Committee found that the Member was guilty of inaction and that he embarked on a course of conduct designed to conceal what his partner had done….and that “he essentially justified all of his own wrongful acts and omissions – aimed at concealing the thefts of his partner – as being for the purpose of helping or saving his partner…he placed his partner’s interest above those of the public – in particular, the interests of clients and the Law Society.”

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The Member admitted to the following allegations: Misappropriation of funds; failure to keep proper records, accounts and ledgers of monies received, held, withdrawn or paid by the Member for or on behalf of his clients; failure to file accurate forms or annual reports as required and that the Member withheld information from the Law Society and misled the law Society; that the Member exhibited a pattern of behavior by destroying documents and producing documents in furtherance of his activities and attempts to mislead clients, other lawyers, other professionals and the Law Society.

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A formal hearing was held arising from three matters including that the Member mishandled a civil matter, did not pursue it with diligence, did not respond to inquiries about the progress of the case and mishandled retainer funds. The second matter arose from an impaired driving charge involving the Member, including an admission that the Member committed perjury during his testimony during his criminal trial. The third matter involved failure to provide financial documentation to a client and lack of communication. The Member admitted to the misconduct at the hearing.

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The Member did not report a judgment against him as required and did not pay his annual fees or submit his trust account forms. During a subsequent meeting with the Law Society, the Member admitted to his lack of due diligence in dealing with clients’ matters, including the non-registration of numerous documents. The Member plead guilty to the allegations that he failed to meet financial obligations incurred; failed to notify the Secretary-Treasurer of a judgment against him; failed to respond to communications from the Law Society; failed to observe the Regulations relating to trust accounts by failing to keep proper records; failed to serve clients in a conscientious, diligent and efficient manner; failed to register documents; prepared statements of account and transferred clients’ funds to the Member’s general account without work being completed or disbursements made; and that the Member was ungovernable.

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Following a spot audit, various reports were required to be prepared and filed by the Member’s auditor, along with co-signing of cheques by the auditor. Further complaints included failure by the Member to provide documentation to a trust company in a number of matters despite repeated requests for same; lengthy delays by the Member in filing documents to complete work; failure to return phone calls; failure to respond to the Law Society; and breach of practice restrictions. The Member admitted to the misconduct relating to trust accounts and general accounts, general practice, failure to provide competent services and failure to discharge with integrity the duties owed to clients, other members of the profession and the public.  

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Following a spot audit and the appointment of a Receiver, the Committee found that the Member committed numerous acts of unprofessional conduct, including misappropriation from his clients, charging undisclosed and fraudulent fees, dealing with his client’s assets without authorization, and misleading his clients and the Law Society.

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The Member plead guilty to two counts of failing to comply with the requirements of the Legal Profession Act and Regulations regarding trust account records. The Committee further ordered the Member to file appropriate forms from his accountant every two months until June 1994.

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The Committee found the Member acted against former clients by representing a financial institution against them after he had represented them in negotiating financial matters and after he had been involved in advising them about the security held by the financial institution.

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The Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct in that he failed to be honest and candid in his advice to his clients regarding trust funds.

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The Member was found to have committed professional misconduct regarding his actions and credibility before the Tax Court of Canada.

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The Member was found in a position of conflict when he acted against a former client in a family matter.

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The Member admitted to a conflict of interest allegation.

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The Member admitted to the allegation that he contacted the complainant’s client without permission and attempted to compromise the matter.

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The Committee found that the Member had communicated directly with another party and attempted to negotiate a compromise directly with the other party while that party was represented by a lawyer, without the lawyer’s consent or knowledge.  

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The Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming a member by accepting party and party costs as his own rather than his clients’.

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The Committee found the Member guilty of unprofessional conduct re: converting trust money to his own use; billing clients for services rendered to a third party; two instances of knowingly advising and assisting a client in fraudulent and illegal conduct; failing to keep clients reasonably informed; failure to provide competent legal services; conflict of interest; failing to preserve and keep client’s money safe; failure to disclose fees; charging unreasonable fees; concealing information from clients; lack of frankness with other lawyers; intentionally misleading another lawyer regarding an estate matter; and failure to pay accounts incurred.

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The Member admitted he obtained a restraint order ex parte in a dispute regarding a development project without informing the judge that the order sought was substantially at variance with a previous order in the matter and that there were already proceedings before the court in relation to the matter. The Committee found that “The Member, as a member of the profession, is an officer of the Court, and as such, owes the duty to be absolutely candid with the Judges of the Court and other lawyers practicing in the courts.” The Committee concluded that a mere reprimand was insufficient in the circumstances of the case.